Save Myanmar from absolute hell

Save Myanmar from absolute hell

Myanmar has known many, many dark chapters in its history, especially over the past 18 months since the latest coup d’etat. But the execution of four pro-democracy activists — the first judicial executions in more than three decades — plunges the country into even greater darkness.

The news broke less than a week after the country marked its Martyrs Day — the anniversary of the assassination of founding father General Aung San and several members of his cabinet in 1947. Today, his daughter, democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, languishes in prison again, and Myanmar has four new martyrs to mourn.

I had the privilege of meeting two of the four: Kyaw Min Yu (aka Ko Jimmy) and Phyo Zeya Thaw. I did not know them intimately, but I met them a few times.

In the course of my human rights work throughout Asia over the past 25 years or more, I have known many friends and acquaintances who have been in jail or run the risk of imprisonment; quite a few have endured shocking torture; some who face death threats; two who have survived assassination attempts; and another two who have been assassinated.

“It shows the world the scale of the depravity, inhumanity, brutality, cruelty and criminality of the illegal military dictatorship”

But this is the first time anyone I have met has been sentenced to death in cold blood by a dictatorship and the sentence has been carried out.

When the death sentence was imposed on these four earlier this year and upheld against their appeal last month, I was shocked. But I dared to hope that perhaps it was designed by the junta to instill fear among its opponents in Myanmar, without actually being carried out.

The fact that the regime went through with it shows the world the scale of the depravity, inhumanity, brutality, cruelty and criminality of the illegal military dictatorship.

This is a regime that will stop at nothing to eliminate critics, suppress revolt and cement its grip on power. It is also a regime that is deeply insecure and fragile, surprised by the scale and durability of the resistance it has faced since its coup and, like Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, lashing out with extreme violence because its path to victory is not as smooth as it would have liked.

I first met Ko Jimmy and his wife Nilar Thein after his release from prison in 2012. He had been one of the student leaders in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, and together with Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Ko Mya Aye, Htay Kywe and others, one of the leaders of the “88 Generation” movement.

Less than a fortnight after the coup in February last year, Ko Jimmy was charged, along with six others, and a warrant for his arrest was issued, and on Oct. 23 he was caught and imprisoned.

“These executions may be the first, but without strong international action, they are unlikely to be the last”

I met Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former rapper turned activist who became a close ally of Suu Kyi and was elected to parliament as a National League for Democracy (NLD) candidate, both in Myanmar and when he came to London in 2012. He was arrested in November last year.

Since the coup, 114 people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar, according to Human Rights Watch. These executions may be the first, but without strong international action, they are unlikely to be the last.

The international community has roundly condemned the executions, and rightly so.

In a joint statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and South Korea, described the executions as “reprehensible acts of violence that further exemplify the regime’s disregard for human rights and the rule of law.”

The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar said he was “outraged and devastated” by what he called “these depraved acts.” The United States called on China to use its influence with the regime in Myanmar to press for change.

All these statements are right and welcome. Indeed, the alternative — silence — would be completely unacceptable and untenable. But we still seem to be stuck in a cycle of handwringing statements when it comes to Myanmar.

It is almost 18 months since the coup, and apart from a trickle of piecemeal sanctions from some countries, we have seen precious little action.

“Myanmar is spiraling into an increasingly grave human rights and humanitarian crisis”

Myanmar appears to have fallen off the agenda, partially due to the war in Ukraine, economic challenges and other issues but also because the political will and leadership in the international community are lacking. Indeed, it takes some executions to get it back into the news. That is not right.

Myanmar is spiraling into an increasingly grave human rights and humanitarian crisis. Almost 15,000 people have been arrested since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), with just under 12,000 still detained. At least 2,123 people have been killed.

The United Nations has said that 7.8 million children in the country remain out of school, 250,000 are internally displaced, and children have reportedly been abducted and recruited for armed conflicts. Places of worship have been bombed, and Christians and Muslims face intensifying persecution. It is time to act.

There are two steps the international community could take to help bring Myanmar’s nightmare to an end and begin the process of peace-building and democratization. First, cut the lifeline to the regime. Second, provide a lifeline to the people.

Cut the lifeline to the regime, by stepping up the pace of targeted sanctions, to cut the flow of revenue that enables it to survive and cut the flow of arms that enable it to kill.

We need a comprehensive global arms embargo that will clearly expose those countries that flout it. We need to increase pressure on countries such as China and Russia, but also India and Pakistan, who continue to supply the military with arms.

We need sanctions on supplies of aviation fuel to the military, to stop or at least slow its capability to bomb its people. We need a diplomatic penalty too — Myanmar’s military attaches should be expelled around the world. And we need accountability.

“Refugees from Myanmar fleeing to other countries should be offered immediate protection and assistance”

Just recently the International Court of Justice announced it will proceed with a case brought by the Gambia on claims of genocide against the Rohingyas, dismissing Myanmar’s objections. Other countries should now join the Gambia in pursuit of this case. Governments should join forces to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court as well. Impunity must end.

And at the same time, we need to provide a lifeline to the people. Humanitarian aid should be provided to refugees fleeing across Myanmar’s borders into neighboring countries and delivered cross-border to those trapped and displaced in the jungles in Myanmar’s remote border regions. Refugees from Myanmar fleeing to other countries should be offered immediate protection and assistance.

Aung San Suu Kyi is back in prison. In government, she disappointed many, failed expectations and made some grave mistakes. But there is no justification whatsoever for turning our backs on her and her people now, in their hour of need.

She won re-election in November 2020 with a huge mandate from the people. She should be in government, not in jail. Thousands of her colleagues, supporters and activists in Myanmar’s democracy movement are also in prison. Some have already died from sickness or torture.

Villages are being bombarded by the military’s planes in scenes not dissimilar to Ukraine. The only difference is they don’t make the headlines.

Now Myanmar is back in the news, due to the tragic and gruesome execution of four pro-democracy activists, let us seize the moment to act. We must not let Myanmar fall off the agenda yet again after a couple of days of headlines. We must ensure that the Generals face real consequences, the people receive the support they need and deserve, and every effort is made to save Myanmar from the hell it is currently in.

* Benedict Rogers is a human rights activist and writer. He is the co-founder and chief executive of Hong Kong Watch, senior analyst for East Asia at the international human rights organization CSW, co-founder and deputy chair of the UK Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, a member of the advisory group of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) and a board member of the Stop Uyghur Genocide Campaign. He is the author of six books, and his faith journey is told in his book “From Burma to Rome: A Journey into the Catholic Church” (Gracewing, 2015). The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.